family + fun

A charming carnival of a movie, Disney's "The Princess and the Frog" is a landmark, business as usual and a return to form for the world's preeminent animation studio.

It's sociologically groundbreaking as it finally expands Disney's vanilla palette of cartoon heroines through Pocahontas, Mulan and Lilo to include African-American Tiana. It took 80 years, but better late than never.

It's less innovative in that it tells a standard-issue happily-ever-after tale about a world where magic -- and hard work -- make dreams come true. It walks a tightrope between being nostalgic and musty.

And with its classical, handcrafted animation -- the first from Disney in half a decade -- the film revives a proud tradition of cartooning. Before the massive assault of "Avatar," I'm glad we're giving the computer-generated look a rest. Human artists can make magic with pencils, pens and paint.

Imaginatively designed around a Mardi Gras color scheme of green and purple, the film is a girl-to-woman coming-of-age story. Tiana (voiced by "Dreamgirls" star Anika Noni Rose, whose dimples apparently inspired the character's dazzling smile) is a superb cook who aspires to own New Orleans' biggest, best restaurant. She doesn't daydream of being a princess but rather a successful entrepreneur, working so doggedly that she's sort of a drudge. She'd rather pull double shifts as a waitress to save for a down payment than hit the town and dance with her friends.

She only cuts loose in stylized fantasy sequences, imagining herself at the center of a production number in her palatial nightspot, with chorus lines of chefs and high-kicking waiters prancing alongside. The design of that episode, a stunning art deco poster come to life, isn't just fun to look at. The up-tempo pace and streamlined Machine Age aesthetic positions Tiana in contrast to the sensual, flowing floral motifs of the world around her. She's the most driven girl in the Big Easy, no damsel in need, waiting for a prince to come to her rescue.

That's the fantasy of Tiana's best friend, Charlotte, the sweet but spoiled daughter of a doting sugar baron (voiced respectively by Jennifer Cody and John Goodman). She's all a-twitter over the arrival of suave Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos, an Antonio Banderas sound-alike), who is visiting New Orleans in search of hot jazz and a wealthy wife.

There's a lovely attention to detail in the film. Randy Newman's score is first-rate Americana, big New Orleans jazz, and co-directors Ron Clements and John Musker (of "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin") squeeze an impressive amount of authentic design detail into the locations. This isn't the prefabricated New Orleans Square at Disneyland by a long shot; this is a fanciful version of the real deal.

The script convolutes the familiar story nicely. There are supernatural complications in the form of an evil voodoo man (Keith David), and a lush, colorful bayou side trip with a trumpet-playing gator and a moonstruck romantic firefly. The central love story recognizes that human virtues and flaws are always inextricably intertwined. Tiana learns that self-reliance and ambition are great attributes until they displace fun and personal relationships. Naveen gets lessons in looking beyond appearances and the in the value of honest labor.

There's nothing wrong with the film, except the feeling that there's not quite enough in it. This is a film that colors inside the lines beautifully, but never thinks outside the box.

Colin Covert • 612-673-7186